Obama's Steelers Strategy?

March 29, 2008

When Emmitt Smith appeared at a Barack Obama rally in Dallas before the Texas primary, I noted that it could come back to haunt him with Eagles fans in the event that the campaign were to continue on to Pennsylvania. Well, Obama's making the best of the situation, wrapping himself in the flag--er, towel--of the state's more successful NFL franchise. The conventional wisdom is that Obama should run strongest in the Philadelphia area, but with Jerome Bettis and Franco Harris at his side, maybe he'll perform better than expected in western Pennsylvania. I can't tell whether these are formal endorsements, but if they are, getting the Bus's backing could be a good sign for Obama's general-election prospects. Harris is a loyal Democrat, making 84 percent of his political contributions to Dems, but Bettis gave money to Bush in 2004.